I have recently been introduced to Basecamphq.com, and as a project manager who has used a variety of tools, I’ve got to tell you – I LOVE this site, so wanted to share it with you!  (No it’s not a typo – the “hq” does belong.)

If you are working with a team and particularly if you’re collaborating with a team remotely, this is probably one of the easiest systems I’ve seen to stay connected and keep everyone in the loop without getting buried in emails.  I was thrilled when one of the web design teams I’m working with asked me to submit all of my project tasks to them using this site.

Here are some of the basic features on the dashboard:

• An overview of the entire project that you can sort by who is responsible for a task
• A message board, so your questions don’t get stuck under a pile
• To-Do section that you actually enter your project scope in – high level down to specific task detail
• Set up milestones to keep everyone on track with knowing the expectations
• You can set up notifications to be sent to you or anyone on your team when changes/updates have been made to the project
• Web based and can be accessed from anywhere

Although the site is fairly “intuitive”, it does have some great tutorials as well.  Check it out and let me know your thoughts.

Until next time, J.
“Take control of your destiny or someone else will”

Whether you have a brick and mortar business or do all of your business online – I bet you’re always looking for new and creative ways to generate leads.  Check out this video by Seth Stevenson.  He shows and explains how he tested a new lead generation method.

If you took the time to really focus on a target market, rather than doing a general ad like Seth did (of course it was just a test), you could be on to something really big!

Check it out and then leave a comment about what you thought about it…..

If every time you turn around there’s a new technology, a new sales tool, a new program ~ and you just don’t have time to take it all in and digest it ~ you don’t want to miss this!

Really ~ check out how to eliminate information overload once and for all by visiting:  EasyMarketingInfo.com

One of the industries best has outdone himself.  Save time and money by checking this out….you might find that time to play an extra round of golf, or go on a road trip!

Until next time, J.
“Take control of your destiny or someone else will”

So your new business is starting to take off and you are ready to tell the world about it!  You may already market your business with online avenues such as articles, blogs, social media, and even banners or pay per click.  But have you thought about the kind of exposure you can get with a well written press release?  Done properly you can increase exposure on multiple levels.  Not only could you gain a better search engine position providing your business with potentially more exposure, but provided your press release is a solid news story you can also secure media attention.

What’s entailed in writing a good press release?
Most of the sites you can distribute your releases to (I’ll provide the names of a few below) will have helpful tutorials to follow.  However, here are a few quick tips:

• Start with choosing a few good keywords specific to your business, personal name, and/or industry and build your press release around those
• Your release needs to be considered “newsworthy”.  You should try to answer the Big 5 – What, Why, Where, Who, and When
• The release needs to be written in the third person, as a journalist is reporting on the news event, and you can provide a quote or testimonial
• The release cannot be a disguised advertisement, if it even gets approved to post, it likely won’t be picked up by “the wires” and distributed
• Although this may seem obvious, the release must be truthful and not misleading.  It must also include accurate information such as an active phone number, and email account

Here are a few of the press release sites I like to use: Note – some are free, and some you must pay for their service

• www.webwire.com
• www.live-pr.com
• www.24-7pressrelease.com
• www.free-press-release.com
• www.prweb.com
• www.prlog.com
• www.1888pressrelease.com
• www.pressreleasepoint.com

Good luck ~
Until next time, J
“Take control of your destiny or someone else will”

This weeks ABC is Q for Questions (and Answers) ~ Where do you ask your questions when they come up?  Well, Yahoo! Answers has started gaining importance on the search results and a good way to implement organic SEO for a web site or keyword is to answer relevant questions on Yahoo! Answers. In fact, some businesses spend significant resources answering responses on the site as a way to connect to their customer. A peer review system of answers results in high quality output and encourages users to rely on Yahoo! Answers.

What are your thoughts about it?  Can you see this as a useful strategy for your business?

Come back again for more ABC’s of Online Marketing!

I was glad to read this post from Mark Hayward regarding the steep learning curve he had in becoming familiar with Twitter.  I experienced a slow start at the beginning too.  In his article Mark outlines the top 10 ways to drive traffic to your business blog, all from using Twitter. They are:

• Change the Default Logo
• Show Up
• Complete the Bio Profile
• Brand Your Small Business Twitter Background
• Social Proof Matters
• Be Sincere
• Use Twitter Search
• Collaborative Relationships
• Useful Links and Hash tags
• Power of the Picture

Mark was very thorough in his descriptions and posted examples as well.  It is definitely worth visiting www.ProBlogger.net to read the entire post!

Until next time, J.
“Take control of your destiny or someone else will”

One of the best blogs around that’s dedicated to Affiliate Marketing is written by Geno Prussakov.  He discusses a variety of issues related to affiliates, keeping them apprised of news and events in the industry, plus he has made some predictions for 2010.  The 6 predictions that Geno has made are in these categories:

• Social Media
• Mobile Marketing
• Transparency
• Conversion Rate Optimization
• Online Video
• Legislative Fights

To find out more detail of what trends he expects during the next year, visit: www.amnavigator.com

Until next time, J.
“Take control of your destiny or someone else will”

This is an older post by Brian Clark, but I just recently came across it and thought it explained 5 major points of Blogging quite well.  He addresses the business reasons to blog (not just the social ones) and hits these areas succinctly:

• The Law of Value
• The Law of Headlines and Hooks
• The Law of “How To”
• The Law of The List
• The Law of the Story

Take a look at the entire article here ~ www.CopyBlogger.com.  There is a plethora of other valuable information there as well! Enjoy…

Until next time, J.

“Take control of your destiny or someone else will”

It is no surprise whether you are retiring and looking for another career, or whether you’re stuck with this economy, more and more people are looking to start home based businesses.  This article by Cheryl Kimball and Entrepreneur Press list 55 business startup ideas. These are separated into 3 categories:

• Startups under $1500
• Startups under $3000
• Startups Over $3000 (but might not exceed $5000)

It’s worth looking at because they don’t just list the idea, but provide a short comment on how to get started.  It was interesting though, that I didn’t see much having to do with online marketing, most were service related.  Lots of great food for thought though!  Visit: www.businessonmain.msn.com

Until next time, J.
“Take control of your destiny or someone else will”

This weeks ABC is N for Ning ~ Getting your own social networking platform is no longer a mad dash to the developers’ forum. Instead you can just log on to www.NING.com and create it within a few minutes. Ning.com is catching on fast with community builders and you can get a host of apps like blogs, share videos, forums and live chat and all this comes in DIY mode. NING.com is also a Web 2.0 phenomenon and is offering a free community tool creation option as of now.

Come back next week for more ABC’s of Online Marketing!